Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu State President K. Annamalai called on Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on August 6th, 2024 to revise the regulations for the Chief Minister’s Trophy 2024 by grouping the students in three categories depending on their ages.
Via social media post, Mr. Annamalai stated that: “The rules of National Sports Federation of India (NSFOI) should contain three categories such as 11-14, 14-17 and 17-19 years old. However, in Chief Minister’s Trophy 2024 regulation there is only one group consisting of students between the age brackets of twelve and nineteen against NSFOI orders. It is absurd to make a twelve-year-old compete with a nineteen-year-old.”
Mr. Annamalai argued that an age-diverse competition would not only fail to provide equal opportunities but also cause mental anguish among pupils affecting their future prospects; he also asked whether “Udhayanidhi understands his department and goal of organizing this contest at all.”
